Govt cyber-gambling debt problems
Don Woolford
FEBRUARY 27, 2003
The Australian
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,6048044%5E15318%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html
THE federal government has struck problems trying to stop Australian
gamblers' debts to foreign online casino operators being collected.
The government had not used its regulatory powers to make such debts
unenforceable, an options paper released by Communications Minister Richard
Alston said. The paper is part of a review of the government's
controversial Interactive Gambling Act which bans Australian and foreign
operators from offering online poker machines and casino-style games to
Australians.
The law, which came into force in 2001, angered some state and territory
governments which had licensed operators to provide online gambling.
The paper, which seeks submissions on a range of interactive gambling
issues, said the act allowed the government to make regulations that meant
an agreement to pay money for an illegal interactive gambling service had
no effect.
But because of the complexities and uncertainties, none had been made
....
--
Criticism is something you can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing
nothing, and being nothing.
-- Aristotle
Regards
brd
Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Canberra Australia
brd@austarmetro.com.au